Concord, Martinez Hold First District City Council Elections

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – Concord's first foray into district elections led to two current City Councilmembers winning and a newcomer winning a seat with no incumbent running in Tuesday's races.

Concord was one of many cities around the state that have switched from at-large to district elections recently in response to threats of lawsuits citing the California Voting Rights Act to allege that the at-large system dilutes the ability of minorities to elect candidates of their choice.

In District 1, two incumbents faced off with Councilwoman Laura Hoffmeister appearing to come out on top with 2,252 votes compared to 2,037 for Councilman Ron Leone. Judi Herman finished third with 1,242 votes with all precincts reporting.

In District 3, which had no incumbent living in the district, planning commissioner Dominic Aliano defeated engineer Kenji Yamada with 996 votes to 683.

Incumbent Timothy McGallian ran unopposed in the city's District 5 election.

Martinez also had a new district election system starting this year, with incumbent Councilmember Debbie McKillop trailing business John Stevens by a mere 25 votes as of this morning, according to the unofficial election results.

ALSO SEE:

• Measure R: Pot Tax Passes In Contra Costa Co. Midterm

• REAL-TIME RESULTS: Contra Costa Co.'s 2018 Midterm Election Races

--Bay City News/Shutterstock image